A PokéSeries #8: Mutation Aberration
by Cyllya
Summary: *EPISODE not chapter; this has its own plot* Starring: a human that should be a Pokémon, seven Pokémon that should be humans, two made up Pokémon, the rarest(and cutest) of all Pokémon, Brock, and Cassidie and Butch.


Pokémon #8:

Mutation Aberration

A/N: Thanks to Tina for coming up with the name "Poké-Power-Pumper-Upper." It makes vague sense, yet it's absurdly corny. A perfect title.

Chapter 1

Team Rocket's Plans

In Pallet Town when the Dodrio sounded its wake-up call, Ash and company awoke. Galacteon was to the refrigerator in an instant. Pikachu and Pika checked on the nine baby Pikachus that were in the blue basket that was used as a stroller and a crib.

"How are you doing, Togechikku?" Misty asked.

"Togi! Togi!" Togechikku chirped happily, "Ta-chiiiiiii!"

"Chu Pi-pi-pi-chu," Pikachu said.

~~~

Meanwhile, in the shambled remains of Giovanni's office, Jessie, James, Meowth, and Roland stood nervously before their boss. Persian sat haughtily in the corner despite he was wrapped in bandages. The wounds had been cause by Galacteon. 

"What do the four of you have to say for yourselves?" Giovanni said as he stopped pacing on the other side of the desk.

The other four hesitated. They sweated bullets and tried to think of an answer that wouldn't get them into more trouble. Giovanni waited and leaned on his desk. The weakened wood broke and left him falling forward.

"Are you okay, sir?" Jessie asked timidly.

"I'd be better," he said as he stood, "if you buffoons could do your job right just once!" 

Everyone, even Persian to an extent, cowered as he raised his voice.

"I know something none of you can screw up on," he said thoughtfully, "While watching Jessie battle those other trainers, this idea came to me."

Despite being scared to death, Jessie was glad that she'd helped.

"There is a Pokémon that's rather rare," Giovanni said, "Not the rarest, but they are extremely hard to capture in the wild because they are powerful."

"And you want us to capture it?" James cried almost desperately.

"Of course not," Giovanni scolded. He gave a small piece of paper to Roland and said, "That is a check for $2000 to the Celadon Dept. Store. Go buy some Pokémon power-ups. Bye."

"Go now?" he asked.

"Yes!" Giovanni cried, "Get out of here!" 

Roland hastily ran out. He opened the door, despite it having a hole in it large enough to walk through.

"And us, sir?" Meowth asked.

"You three have the honor of catching some Pokémon for me," Giovanni said.

The three of them smiled.

Giovanni held up four fishing poles, "Here. You can fish in the beach south of Pallet."

"Fish, sir?" James asked.

"I want you to catch Magikarp," he said.

Everyone fell over in disbelief. They stood, and Meowth said, "Forgive me for questioning your orders, sir, but why?"

"Gyarados," Giovanni said simply, "This is a flawless task. Only a Magikarp is stupid enough to become caught by this shabby rod, and I gave you an extra in case your clumsiness got the best of you. Catch a bunch, but no more than 50!" He shoved the rods into Jessie's arms and shooed them out through the hole in the door. He said to himself, "If that's too much, I don't know what I'll do with them…"

~~~

"I can't believe this!" Jessie exclaimed as she and her partners made their way to the shoreline. She yelled, "FISH?! Is he serious?! Does he really want a bunch of stupid Magikarp?!"

"Magikarp evolves into Gyarados," James said sadly.

"I don't even know why we have the fishing poles," Meowth said flatly, lifting a Magikarp up about two feet from the shore.

"Should Arbok battle it?" Jessie asked.

"What do you think?" Meowth grumbled, "Just catch it!"

"Okay," Jessie said. She tossed a Pokéball at the fish. Magikarp was swallowed up and didn't resist much. "That's one," Jessie said.

"Forty-nine to go…" James said. The three of them sighed. They heard something to their left. They looked and saw a pair of scientist-looking people sitting on some large rocks half-way across the beach.

"I wonder what they're talking about," Jessie said.

"You two keep fishing," Meowth said and tossed another Magikarp onto the sand, "Meowth'll check it out!"

"Hmm?" Jessie and James wondered. As James caught the Magikarp, Meowth pounced over to the scientists on all fours.

"Meowth, Meowth!" he purred.

"Awe, a Meowth," one of the scientists said. He petted Meowth on the head. He continued his conversation; "I really don't know how we'll use this machine, Frederick."

"Well, Jonathan," Frederick said, "We'll just develop the idea a bit farther to make sure it works. Then we'll work out a smaller version of the Poké-Power-Pumper-Upper that'll be a big hit in PokéMarts!"

"Yes, this machine will change a Pokémon's DNA and increase their power!" Jonathan said. Meowth grinned.

"But it's just sitting in the lab up there on the cliffs," Frederick said, "It'll take a while to market." Meowth pounced back to Jessie and James.

"If only we could get rid of those odd occurrences…" Jonathan muttered.

"Guess what Meowth heard?!" Meowth cried happily, "In that lab on the cliffs," he pointed, "there's a machine called the Poké-Power-Pumper-Umper that changes a Pokémon's DNA to make it stronger!"

"Really?!" Jessie and James said excitedly.

"Wow!" James said, "This could be our chance to prove to the boss what we can do!"

"Great!" Jessie said, "We already have two Magikarps anyway! Come on, let's go!"

Chapter 2

Jigglypuff

"Can we go to the beach today?" Galacteon asked during breakfast.

"Sure," Ash said.

"Marill!" Marill said happily as it appeared.

"Marill loves to play it the water," Tracey said.

"So do my Pokémon," Misty stated. She turned to Ash, "Not to mention Squirtle and Lapras."

"Yep," Ash said.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said.

~~~

Ash, Misty, Tracey, and their Pokémon arrived at the beach. Off in the corner was Jigglypuff, who was unnoticed by everyone else. She decided to go see what Team Rocket was doing since she'd seen them earlier. She trotted across the beach toward the cliffs with the small lab.

Once arriving, Jigglypuff observed the theft of the ray-gun-like object. Team Rocket snatched the Poké-Power-Pumper-Upper and ran. They fled to a nearby shack that had several boxes in it. Jigglypuff was annoyed that the interesting events had stopped and sighed from the window. Meowth picked up a purple cloth object with black flowers.

"What's this?" he asked, "It looks like a dress."

"That's a little robe or kimono or something," James said, "Some PokéMart salesman dropped it off as a sample."

"It's for Pokémon?" Meowth demanded, "It's pretty stupid!"

"Actually," James said, "I think you'd look cute with it."

Whack! 

Meowth hit James on the head.

"Jiggly!" Jigglypuff said, announcing her presence.

"Jigglypuff?" Team Rocket asked.

"Jiggly," Jiggly puff nodded, "Jiggly-jiggly-puff."

"Jigglypuff says she's in the neighborhood and decided to drop by," Meowth said.

"Would you like some chips, Jigglypuff?" Jessie said quickly, "We want to keep that mouth of yours nice and full!" Jessie held a bag of potato chips to Jigglypuff.

"Puff?" Jigglypuff wondered, then smiled, "Jiggly!" She popped a chip into her mouth.

"Do you want this kimono?" Meowth asked. He slammed it onto Jigglypuff, who didn't look that bad with it.

"Puff?" Jigglypuff wondered. She looked at the clothing in distaste.

Chapter 3

Change

While out on the beach, Ash and company suddenly noticed a bunch of scientists running toward the town.

"What's wrong?!" Misty demanded. One scientist stopped to explain while the others kept running.

"Team Rocket has stolen one of the devices from our lab!" the scientist explained, "It was a machine that makes a Pokémon stronger by altering their DNA!"

"Where did they go?" Ash asked.

"They should be that way, past the lab," the scientist said.

"We'll try to get it back for you!" Ash insisted, "Come on everyone!"

"Be careful," the scientist called, "It doesn't work right yet!"

~~~

Marill, who remembered Team Rocket's voices, led the way. They came to the window and looked in.

"I'm not going to test that thing on Weezing," James whispered. He, Jessie, and Meowth were at a small circular table talking.

"Don't you want Weezing to be stronger?" Jessie asked.

"Of course I do," James said, "but that thing was in a lab for a reason. What if it doesn't work? Test it on one of your Pokémon first."

"Uh…" Jessie stuttered nervously, "We'll use Meowth!" she picked Meowth up by the leg. The angry Meowth slashed at her face with his claws.

"I have a better idea," Meowth looked toward the other side of the cabin. Jigglypuff had sat her microphone/marker on the floor and was trying to remove the robe.

"Oh, Jigglypuff?" Jessie called, "Would you like to be stronger?"

"Jiggly?" Jigglypuff wondered.

"You'll never have to worry about those little Clefairies again!" James said.

"Puff! Jigglypuff!" Jigglypuff cried happily. As they wheeled the machine toward her, Jigglypuff uttered a "Puff…?" uneasily.

As Jessie aimed the machine and pulled the lever back, the lights on the machine flickered and moved. A big blue beam shot toward Jigglypuff. Once hit, Jigglypuff wailed in agony and rolled behind some boxes. Neither Ash and his friends nor Team Rocket could see him.

"Seems to me like it only caused pain, or maybe made her weaker," Meowth said, glancing at Jigglypuff. 

"It didn't work," James moped.

"We could always use it for a weapon," Jessie said, "Since we stole this, I wouldn't be surprised if the twerps are spying on us right now."

"Well, you're getting a little smarter."

"See?" Jessie asked, indicating the doorway where Ash and his friends stood.

"If it's gonna be a weapon," Meowth said, spinning the machine toward Ash and Pikachu, "commence fire!"

"Pikachu, move!" Ash yelled; he and Misty shoved Pikachu and Togechikku out of the way. The blue beam hit the two of them instead.

"Ash?! Misty?!" Tracey called, "Are you okay?"

"We're fine," Ash gasped, "Pikachu!" 

"Pika!" Misty ordered.

"Thundershock!" they said.

"Pika-chu!" Pika and Pikachu said. Team Rocket got electrocuted as three more people dashed into the cabin. It was Officer Jenny, Nurse Joy, and some kid with brown hair and glasses.

"Not again!" Meowth muttered. He yelped when he saw the machine. It was swerving around and shooting everywhere. He managed to duck out of the way. One by one, Jenny, Joy, Jessie, James, and the kid were shot.

Ash and Misty started getting dizzy. Everyone else that had been hit had passed out.

"Tracey, Pikachu!" Ash gasped, "Go get help!"

Tracey, Pikachu, and the others ran out to get help. Even Meowth got panicked and tried to find help. Then the only people in the cabin were those who'd been shot. The ray stopped shooting.

"Ash?" Misty asked weakly, "Do I look like I'm glowing or something?"

"Kind of," Ash said, "Your sort of bluish."

"And you're turning yellow," Misty informed. A few moments later, everyone else woke up. Jessie and James seemed purplish. Joy was pink, Jenny was red, and the unknown kid was yellow.

"What's happening?" Jessie asked. Ash and Misty fell to their knees and glowed brightly. Then they appeared to be shrinking. Ash felt himself covered by some sort of black cloth. After climbing out of it and a blue and white one, Ash looked around. He noticed everyone gaping at him in shock.

He'd meant to ask, "What's wrong?" but it came out, "Pi-Pikachu?" 

Surprised he looked at his hands. They were small, fury, and yellow.

"Pika!" he exclaimed.

Chapter 4

Fish-napping

"The twerp turned into a Pikachu!" Jessie yelled.

"Horsea! Horsea!" a Horsea flopped away from where Misty had been. 

"Cha!" Ash said. The others glowed the same way until Jessie was an Ekans, James was a Koffing, Joy was a Chansey, Jenny was a Growlithe, and the kid was a Psyduck.

"Pi-ka?" Ash wondered.

"[I will wake up any time now,]" Jessie insisted, "[All that that ray did was give me a bad dream.]"

"[Have we turned into Pokémon?]" Misty questioned.

"[I think so,]" Ash said.

"[Who's the Psyduck?]" James asked.

"[I'm Ryan,]" the Psyduck said, "[One of the scientists you crooks stole that from is my father.]"

"Chan-see!" Joy said, "[Is anyone hurt?]"

"[Can someone put me on my side?]" Misty asked, "[My nose hurts while I'm flopping on my belly like this.]"

"Pika Cha," Ash said and tipped Misty over.

"[You know, James,]" Jessie said, "[Something just occurred to me.]"

"[Me too,]" James said, "[What is your occurrence?]"

Jessie said, "[If we change back to humans later and keep them from changing back, this would be the perfect time to catch a few Pokémon…]"

"[Ooh! You're right, Jess!]" James said.

"[Attack!]" Jessie ordered, "[James! Smoke Screen!]"

"Koffing!" James said. He filled the cabin with black smoke.

"Pika?" Ash coughed. He saw Jessie flying at him, mouth opened and prepared to bite. Ash tensed and prepared for impact. His cheeks tensed and sparks flew. Ash smiled and jumped aside.

"Ekans!" Jessie said, missing. She curled up and lunged again.

"Pi-ka… CHU!" 

"Ekans…" Jessie moaned. 

"Chansey!" James tackled Joy. Joy used Chansey's Double Slap attack.

"[We'll get the others later!]" Jessie said, "[Horse-girl will do for now!]"

"[Put me down!]" Misty attempted to wiggle out of Jessie's jaws.

"[Misty?!]" Ash called. When the smoke cleared, Jessie, James, and Misty were gone.

"[They went through the window!]" Jenny barked. She and Ash went through the window easily. Joy had to help Ryan through and had difficulty climbing through herself.

Fortunately Ekans and Koffing aren't the fastest runners in the Pokémon world, seeing that they technically don't run. Ash and Jenny caught up with Jessie and James quickly.

"Ekans!" Jessie groaned after getting the end of her tail was stepped on and she hit the ground. Misty rolled away and nearly rolled down a nearby hill. Unknown to everyone was how the ledge at the end of the hill dropped into the ocean.

"[Can someone get me into water?]" Misty complained.

"[Just a minute, Misty!]" Jenny said. She used her Flame-thrower attack on James. Ash's Thundershock fried Jessie. While the others battled, Joy picked Misty up to keep her from getting hurt.

"[I just remembered something,]" Misty said to Joy, "[Before we attacked Team Rocket, they shot Jigglypuff with that thing. Wonder what happened to her…]" Since she was upright, she sprayed ink at Jessie.

Some of James's gas exploded from Jenny's fire. Jenny and Ash were hurt in the explosion.

"Pikachu…" Ash groaned.

"[Tackle him, James!]" Jessie said.

James zoomed toward Ash. Suddenly…

WHACK! Something hit James hard and knocked him into Jessie. They got tangled up. They struggled to face their attacker.

It was a girl who looked about Ash and Misty's age. She had long wavy pink hair that curled oddly in the front. She had a piece of wood that she'd hit James with. Her bright blue eyes narrowed angrily.

"[Who's that?]" Joy asked.

"[Judging by the odd purple robe…]" Misty said, "[I'd say it's…]"

Chapter 5

Water-logging

"[…Jigglypuff?!]" everyone demanded at once.

Without saying anything, Jigglypuff hit the tangled mass of Jessie and James. They rolled into Joy, who couldn't move in time. They rolled down the hill and over the ramp.

"[Misty?!]" Ash ran down the hill after them. Jigglypuff, Jenny, and Ryan tripped over each other and rammed into Ash. They all rolled the way the others had.

"[Hey, I'm a fire-type!]" Jenny howled as they fell toward the ocean.

SPLASH!

"Pika!" Ash gasped. 

He surfaced and looked around for the others. He saw Ryan struggling to stay afloat. Jenny swam okay for a fire Pokémon. James, looking disoriented, floated. Joy stretched on her back to float. Jigglypuff strained to swim up.

"[Where's Misty?!]" Ash demanded.

"[Misty can swim; don't worry about her,]" Joy said, "[but Jessie can swim too! Worry about her sneaking up from beneath!]"

As that was said, several bubbles bubbled up from below. There seemed to be a lot of thrashing around under water. Then more bubbles came up. Ash dove under to see what was happening. About twenty feet from the surface, Misty and Jessie were battling. 

"[Don't use your electricity, Ash!]" Misty warned, "[You'll fry us all!]"

"[Be careful!]" Ash said, his Pokémon voice garbled. Misty sprayed Jessie with bubbles, and dodged the countering Poison Sting. Jessie cleared the bubbles and bit Misty.

"Horsea!" Misty cried. She swam free and used Smoke Screen. The water blackened. Ash tried to see where Jessie and Misty had gone.

"Pika?" Ash mumbled. He started to need more air, but because of the smoke, he couldn't tell which way the surface. He tried to guess and started swimming desperately.

"[You're going to wrong way,]" Misty said as she appeared, "[Here. Grab my tail.]"

Ash took hold of Misty's curly tail and was pulled to surface.

"[Ash! Misty!]" Jenny called to them; "[We found a cave in the cliff side! Hurry! Over here!]"

When they got to the cliff side, they had to swim under to get in. Before they went under, Ash saw Jessie trying to use James as a flotation device. They swam past a big rock, and when they surfaced again, they were in a small cavern with Joy, Ryan, and Jigglypuff.

"[Great,]" Ash said tiredly. 

"[Is everyone accounted for?]" Jenny asked. Everyone said yes. After a few hours, Misty swam back out to make sure the coast was clear and to find a way back to dry land.

__

[It's getting dark,] Misty observed. She looked and saw the three-quarter moon up high, "[A rising moon means rising tide… How long will the others be safe in that cave?]"

After a long swim, Misty determined where the beach was and headed toward the others. She knew the long swim would be hard for them.

The others were still in the cave and trying desperately to start some small talk to pass the time.

"[So you're Jigglypuff, huh?]" Ash asked. Jigglypuff didn't say anything, but she nodded.

"[That ray turned you into a human?]" Ash asked.

Jigglypuff nodded.

"[Can you talk?]"

"Y-y-yes…" Jigglypuff murmured.

"[Do you like being a human?]"

Jigglypuff shook her head, and a tear rolled down her cheek. 

"[Maybe since you can speak,]" Ash said, "[You can help us find someone to change us all back.]"

Jigglypuff nodded.

Misty popped up and said, "[It's dark, and it's a long way till the cliffs end at the beach, but we still need to go because the tide is rising and we can't stay hear long.]"

"[You summed that up quick,]" Joy said.

"[Let's go,]" Misty said. They swam out of the cave and to the west. Misty had to help Joy and Ryan.

"[I always figured a Psyduck could swim better!]" Ryan complained.

"[Don't feel bad,]" Misty said, "[You're not the first person to make that mistake.]"

"Grrr…" Jenny moaned. She looked about to pass out.

"[Keep going Jenny!]" Ash said, "[We still have a long way to go!]"

Jenny started to sink. Misty left Joy and Ryan to help Jenny.

"[Fire Pokémon are weakened in water,]" Joy said, stating the obvious.

Chapter 6

United Water Pokémon

"[Jenny!]" Misty cried, trying to raise her to the surface, "[Wake up!]"

"[It's no use,]" Ash said, "[She's out cold…]"

"[How will we get to land with her unconscious?]" Ryan asked, "[The thought of leaving her is absurd!]"

"[You're right about that!]" Ash said.

"[Help me, everyone,]" Misty said. Everyone did their best to swim and help carry Jenny. Every few inches they swam, someone would end up inhaling a pint of water.

"Jigglypuff!"

"[What?]" everyone demanded at once. They stared at Jigglypuff, who had shouted.

"Jigglypuff!" Jigglypuff shouted toward the horizon. 

"[Has she lost it?]" Ash wondered.

"[It would appear so,]" Ryan said, "[It's understandable if you consider what she's going through…]"

"[We're going through nearly the same thing,]" Ash said, "[and we're not going insane.]"

"[You weren't sane to begin with!]" Misty said, "[and I don't know about the others, but I can feel _my_ sanity slipping away a few inches at a time…]"

"Jigglypuff-PUFF!" Jigglypuff screamed.

"[She's making my head hurt worse!]" Ryan wined.

"[Great! You'll be ready if we get in a battle,]" Misty said, "[and—]"

"[Shh!]" Ash silenced, "[Listen to Jigglypuff closely…]"

"[Why?]" Misty whispered.

"[She's saying something in a Pokémon language,]" Ash said, "[but it sounds awkward because she's a human.]"

"[Help! Help us!]" Jigglypuff was shouting, "[Pokémon of the ocean! Please help us!]"

"[Calling for help?]" Misty asked, "[Does he know any ocean-residing Pokémon?]"

"[I would doubt it,]" Ryan said.

"[Then why would they help?]" Joy asked.

"[I don't know,]" Ash said, "[but I… I really feel they would…]" 

"[Really?]" Misty wondered.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried, "[Help us! Help us!]"

They water current shifted ever so slightly and seemed to be coming toward them. Ash and Jigglypuff kept yelling. Misty, Joy, and Ryan started yelling too.

"Golduck?" 

"PSY!" Ryan screamed. Everyone looked and saw a Golduck had emerged from the water and had Ryan on its back.

"They've come to help!" Jigglypuff said. To the Golduck he said, "Puff! Jigglypuff!"

"Golduck," Golduck smiled.

"Dewgong!" a Dewgong rose up ahead of them, "[Come on everyone!]"

"Poliwag! Poliwag!" several Poliwags rose. Five swam close together in formation under Jenny. Some Horseas and a Seadra lifted Misty up, a Goldeen rose up under Ash, and Joy was carried by a Tentacool. 

"[It sure is nice of them to give us a lift!]" Misty exclaimed as the Pokémon carried them toward the beach. After a ways, they all stopped suddenly. The Dewgong that was leading seemed to be watching something.

"[Why'd they stop?]" Misty asked.

"[I see a human structure,]" Dewgong said.

"[A building?]" Joy asked.

"[No,]" Ash said, "[It's a row boat. I don't think these Pokémon like humans much.]"

The Pokémon insisted on letting the boat pass before continuing. When they reached the beach, Jigglypuff and the others thanked the Pokémon. Everyone went their separate ways, and Joy revived Jenny.

Chapter 7

Deeds of Kindness

At dawn, everyone was lightly rested and sitting on the sand. There weren't any people around yet.

"[That sure was nice of those Pokémon to help us,]" Joy said, "[Were they friends of yours, Jigglypuff?]"

"Not personally," Jigglypuff said. She still rarely looked at anything save the horizon and the ground.

"[Friends of friends?]" Ash suggested.

"No," Jigglypuff said, "All Pokémon are connected in a way, with the possible exception of human-trained Pokémon."

"[You mean they treat each other like friends, even if they don't know each other?]" Ryan asked.

"Yes," Jigglypuff said, "but sometime human-trained Pokémon don't remember the link that the other Pokémon have, or the others don't trust them."

"[You know,]" I said, "[It _did_ seem like I knew those Pokémon or something—like they were old friends.]"

"Horsea," Misty said meaninglessly.

"[That's very interesting,]" Ryan said, "[Perhaps I could tell my father about it.]"

After a while, Ash's ears perked and twitched. He could hear something a ways down the beach.

"[What is it, Ash?]" Jenny asked.

"[I hear something,]" Ash said, "[Let's go check it out.]"

Joy carried Misty, and everyone quickly made their way down the beach to a rockier section. The sound became clearer.

"It's a Pokémon," Jigglypuff said. They continued moving quickly.

"[Sounds like…]" Ash listened.

"Bellsprout! Bellsprout!"

"[It's a Bellsprout!]" Ash said.

"[Help! Help!]" the Bellsprout called. Ash and Jenny were the first to spot it. I was stuck in the sand and was doing a bad job at wriggling free. A Slowpoke was walking very slowly toward the Bellsprout. Ryan, Joy, and Misty came up.

"[The tide must have loosened the sand,]" Ryan said, "[then washed more in after the Bellsprout tried to get out.]"

"[We should help it for the same reason the those other Pokémon helped us,]" Joy said.

"[R—]" Misty began. She stopped and yelled, "[Slowpoke! Look out!]"

Slowpoke's tail had hit a small rock on the side of the nearby rocky slope and sent it flying into the waves. Unfortunately, the rock had been the only thing keeping a much larger rock in place. The larger rock landed on Slowpoke's back. 

"Slowpoke!" Slowpoke howled, "Slowpoke! Slowpoke-slow!"

"[We'll get you both out!]" Ash promised, "[Calm down!]"

"[Thank you!]" Bellsprout said.

"[Well, Ash,]" Misty said, "[How do we achieve this rescue?]"

"[I think if you and Ryan use your Water Guns on the sand around Bellsprout,]" Ash said, "[It will be loose enough for Jigglypuff to just pull him out. And Bellsprout can use his Vine Whip to help the rest of us get the rock off Slowpoke.]"

"Bellsprout!" Bellsprout approved.

"Slow," Slowpoke nodded.

The plan went accordingly. Bellsprout and Slowpoke were freed, and they waved goodbye as Ash and his friends left.

"[Hey, I have a question,]" Misty stated.

"[What's that?]" Ash asked.

"[How do we turn back to humans?]"

Everyone thought wordlessly.

"[Being a Pokémon is cool if you were born that way, or you would only be one for a while,]" Misty said, "[but I miss being human. And I bet Jigglypuff wants to be a Jigglypuff again.]"

Jigglypuff nodded.

"[I suppose we should go back to my father's lab,]" Ryan said.

"[Yeah,]" Jenny said.

"[Jigglypuff can speak for us,]" Joy said, "[and your father can probably change us all back!]"

"[Alright,]" Ash said, "[let's get going!]"

Chapter 8

Caterpie and the Hole

Ash and the others took the trail up the cliffs. It was the quickest way to the lab, and it had some nice forest area on the way.

"[I'm sorry if I'm being dead weight,]" Misty said. She said it because everyone else had to take turns carrying her.

"[It's okay,]" said Ash, who was holding her in his left arm, "[It's not your fault you're a water-only-going Pokémon.]"

"[You'll be helpful in a battle concerning water,]" Ryan said.

"[Besides,]" Ash said, "[It could have been worse; you could have been a fish.]"

"[Yeah, you're right,]" Misty admitted.

"[Can we take a rest?]" Jenny asked wearily.

"[I suppose this is as good a time as any,]" Ash said and leaned Misty against a tree stump.

"CHAN-see!" relieved, Joy fell onto her back.

Grrr… 

"[What was that?!]" Jenny demanded.

"Pi…ka…" Ash said, "[That was my stomach.]"

"[We haven't eaten since breakfast yesterday,]" Misty said.

"I had an early lunch," Jigglypuff said.

"[Perhaps we can find some consumables,]" Ryan said.

"[Uh… yeah,]" Ash said, "[Why don't we get food instead?]"

"[I've just found another bad thing about being a Horsea,]" Misty said, ignoring Ash.

"[What's that?]" Joy asked.

"[Horseas' diet doesn't appeal to me,]" Misty said. Her eyes followed a small fly back and forth. 

"Chu?" Ash wondered.

"Horseas eat flies," Jigglypuff said. Ash's face took on a greenish hue.

"[Maybe it won't taste so bad since I'm a Horsea…]" Misty hoped. When the fly was over her, she spit ink at it. It fell to the ground with a gooey sound.

"[You're really gonna eat that?]" Ash asked.

"[I'm hungry!]" Misty snapped. She looked with disgust at the inky fly. She picked it up in her fins and said, "[Here goes nothing…]" She ate it.

"[Just don't say it tastes like chicken,]" Ash said, looking away.

"[Fine. It tastes more like pork anyway,]" Misty grumbled after swallowing, "[Needs sugar.]"

Ash sighed and sat down. He looked at a tiny nearby pond and saw the reflection of a Caterpie in it. Looking up, he saw that there was a Caterpie crawling upside-down on a thin branch.

"[How does the Caterpie cross the limb without being affected by gravity?]" Ryan asked.

"[You mean falling?]" Ash asked.

"[Yes.]"

"[Its feet are tipped with suction pads,]" Ash said.

"[Oh.]"

"[That branch looks awfully weak…]" Joy observed.

At that very moment, the Caterpie got too close to the end of the branch, and it snapped. The Caterpie landed in the pond and began thrashing around to stay afloat. It cried out in its own language.

"Pika!" Ash cried. He ran to the edge of the pond. Joy got up, quickly carried Misty to the shore, and threw her in.

"Horsea!" Misty said. She and Ash swam to the Caterpie's aid. They laid the Caterpie on the shore of the pond.

"[Are you okay?]" Misty asked the Caterpie, which was gasping for breath. After a moment, the Caterpie got up and, to everyone's surprise, hugged Misty desperately. 

"[Guess that's a yes,]" Ash said, seeing Misty's eyes bug out from the pressure. The same thing happened to him when the Caterpie unexpectedly hugged Ash just as tight. Ash was so startled that he accidentally electrocuted the poor bug. 

The Caterpie started crying.

"[Don't cry!]" Ash exclaimed, "[It was an accident! I'm sorry!]"

The Caterpie instantly cheered up and hugged Ash again—not so tightly, of course.

"[It was nice helping you,]" Misty said. The Caterpie squeaked its thank you and departed.

"[I wonder if we can find some food,]" Jenny said.

"[I hope so,]" Ash said, "[I'm starving.]" 

"[Me too,]" Misty moaned.

"[Let's start looking for something to eat,]" Ash said. He carried Misty, and the others followed. They looked in bushes for berries and fruits. The search continued until Ryan pointed out that, according to the sun's position, it was noon.

"[Jeez!]" Misty said, "[Are bugs the only edible things in this whole forest?!]"

"[Calm down!]" Ash snapped, "[Going nuts is the last thing that'll help us!]"

"Horse," Misty sighed. Everyone took a few more steps.

"[What was that?]" Ash demanded suddenly.

"[What was what?]" Joy asked.

"[I looked like the trees suddenly rose an inch or so,]" Ash said.

"[I noticed it too,]" Misty said.

"[I didn't notice trees doing anything out of the ordinary,]" Ryan stated. He walked over next to them. Joy and Jenny did too. Suddenly, the ground below them caved in and left them crashing to the floor of a pit. Jigglypuff looked down at them in shock.

"[A hole?!]" Ash demanded, "[This must be Team Rocket's fault!]"

"[For that much, you're right, Twerp,]" said a snaky voice. They heard Jigglypuff shout out then suddenly be silent. 

"[Jigglypuff?]" Misty questioned.

"[To protect the world from devastation!]" Jessie said. She wrapped around Jigglypuff's arms; Jigglypuff had a rock in her mouth.

"[To unite all people within our nation!]" James said.

"[To denounce the evils of truth and love!]" 

"[To extend our reach to the stars a—Hey!]" James noticed that their captives weren't paying attention. Instead, they were trying to push Jenny out of the pit.

"[James, use your Sludge attack!]" Jessie ordered angrily. James spit sludge onto Jenny's eyes. Jenny yelped and fell back, off of the tower of everyone else.

"[Now we'll finally get a bunch of Pokémon!]" James exclaimed.

"[Yep! Five total!]" Jessie said, "[Six if we can change Jigglypuff back.]" She hissed at Jigglypuff. When she opened her mouth and managed to spit out the rock, Jessie wrapped her tail around the lower half of her face.

"[But how do we change us back?]" James asked.

"[I told you not to bring that up yet!]" Jessie hissed.

"[How did you get out of the ocean?!]" Misty demanded, trying to stall.

"[I'm glad you asked!]" Jessie said, "[We used our esteemed wisdom to find a fishing net to pull us to shore!]"

"[And we kept the stupid fisherman's net!]" James added happily. He picked the net up in his teeth and started to throw it onto Ash and the others.

Chapter 9

Bug Pokémon to the Rescue!

As James began to fling the net, he was distracted by the loud but muffled yelp from Jigglypuff.

"[Keep quiet you!]" Jessie said angrily, "[There's no way you can help them!]"

However, Jigglypuff continued to do her best to thrash around and scream. Her bright blue eyes were widened.

James started to throw the net again, but he was still being annoyed by Jigglypuff. Jessie was getting dizzy from her thrashing.

"[What's wrong with her?]" Ash wondered.

"[Perhaps she has been alarmed by something that we cannot see from down here,]" Ryan said.

"[Wouldn't Team Rocket see it?]" Misty asked, "[No. Never mind. They're too absent-minded.]"

To everyone's surprise, Jigglypuff became still and silent. Misty quietly pointed out that he seemed to be listening to something. From his viewpoint on Jenny's head, Ash could tell that her eyes were softer. She wasn't so hysterical now. 

Jessie removed her tail from her face and said, "[Now what was so important that you just HAD to yell it?]"

Jigglypuff now had a smug expression and stayed silent. 

"[What did you want to say?!]" Jessie demanded.

Jigglypuff turned her head slowly toward Jessie and looked patronizingly into her gold eyes. After a moment she gave a sharp, "Puff!" and deliberately spit on the P.

"[Uh… Jessie?]" James asked nervously.

"[You little…]" Jessie hiss angrily, "[How dare you mock me?!]"

"[Jessie…?]" James said again.

Jigglypuff said nothing. Before Jessie could act to this, James asked for her again.

"[What is it?!]" she demanded of her partner.

"[Look up,]" James said.

Jessie turned her head up and was shocked by what she saw. Several Beedrill, Butterfree, and Venomoths were hovering threateningly overhead.

"[Maybe they don't notice us,]" Jessie said.

"[They're staring straight at us,]" James pointed out.

"[Maybe they don't care,]" Jessie hoped.

"[They're not leaving!]" James exclaimed.

The bug Pokémon dived after them. They screamed in fear. Because she no longer cared much about her, Jessie freed Jigglypuff and desperately followed James with the bugs right behind her.

"[At least they're gone,]" Ash said.

"[How do we scale out of this hole?]" Ryan asked.

"[Jigglypuff?]" Misty asked, "[Can you pull us out?]"

Jigglypuff laid on her stomach and attempted to reach down to them, but she couldn't.

"[Oh,]" Joy moaned sadly.

"We'll think of something," Jigglypuff said. She heard something behind her. She turned and saw a Weedle and four Caterpies. Another Caterpie carried a Metapod. The others attached their String Shot and wrapped up the Metapod's middle. The fifth Caterpie twirled Metapod and walked backward until there was a strong rope attached to Metapod.

Jigglypuff watched intently. More Caterpillar Pokémon came and made the rope wider and longer. A Kacuna was attached to the other end. Jigglypuff began to get rather confused.

The fifth Caterpie seemed to be the one in charge of the bizarre operation. When it seemed satisfied, they held onto the Kacuna and lowered the Metapod's end of the rope into the hole. The Metapod glimmered; it had used Harden. 

When the Metapod appeared in front of Ash, no one understood what all the bugs had been doing. The lead Caterpie, who turned out to be the one that Ash and Misty had rescued, explained to Jigglypuff. Jigglypuff explained louder to the others.

According to plan, Ash stood, though awkwardly, on the Metapod and held onto the rope. The Caterpies and Weedles pulled on the Kacuna until Ash jumped out of the hole. The same was done for Ryan holding Misty and Joy. Everyone helped pull up Jenny.

"[Thanks!]" Ash said the lead Caterpie, "[Aren't you the same Caterpie that fell in the pond?]"

The Caterpie nodded.

"[Well, thanks again,]" Ash said.

The bugs showed Ash and the others where to find some food. They ate, said good-bye to their helpers, and went to sleep.

Chapter 10

Cabin Disaster

After a long journey, Ash, Misty, Joy, Jenny, Ryan, and Jigglypuff reached the tiny lab…only to discover that no one was there.

"[Great,]" Misty muttered sarcastically, "[Now what?]"

"[Ryan?]" Ash asked, "[Didn't you say you father was one of these scientists?]"

"[Yes,]" Ryan said proudly, "[He's in charge.]"

"[Would _you_ happen to know where he is?]" Ash asked.

"Psy?" Ryan thought then said, "[In view of the fact that we've been in Pokémon—and human—form,]" he couldn't help but glance at Jigglypuff, "[for one and two halves of three days…]"

"[Don't use big words; they take more time to say!]" Ash snapped.

"[Well, _somebody_ woke up on the wrong side of his pile of leaves this morning!]" Misty said.

"[Excuse me—]" Ash said.

"[ANYWAY!]" Jenny said, attempting to end the argument.

"[Sorry,]" Ryan said, "[Well, my family is probably at home now. However, by the time we would arrive there when travelling on foot, they'd be at this one meeting. It was suppose to be in Viridian.]"

"[A meeting?]" Misty asked.

"[A meeting for all Pokéologists,]" Ryan said, "[to tell each other about what they've discovered.]"

"[Let's go!]" Ash said.

"[To Viridian?]" Misty asked, "[How? And just because Ash isn't the only one in a bad mood: I HATE VIRIDIAN CITY!!!]"

"[Okay…]" Ash said, rubbing his ears, "[How _do_ we get there?]"

"[How about a bus?]" Joy suggested.

Everyone looked at her as if she were crazy.

"[Actually, that might work!]" Ash said happily, "[Back where we got changed into Pokémon has our clothes and such. I had my backpack. Even though my Pokémon are with Tracey, there were still empty Pokéballs. We could get those and some money. Jigglypuff could put us in the Pokéballs and take us on the bus to Viridian.]"

"[Us?]" Misty squeaked, "[In Pokéballs?!]"

"[I know it seems unnerving,]" Ash said, "[but we _are_ Pokémon. Nothing's stopping us from being inside the Pokéball.]"

"[I know but…]" Misty stammered.

"[Oh, just come on!]" he picked her up and carried her out the door.

~~~

An hour or so later, they were in the little cabin with the Poké-Power-Pumper-Upper.

"[Do you think that that thing would change us back?]"Joy asked, looking at it.

"[Maybe,]" Ryan said, "[But I don't think it would be a good idea to try. There's too much of a chance of it just making us worse.]"

"[Oh, well,]" Ash said.

"[I hadn't brought any money with me,]" Ryan said, "[I hope someone else did.]"

"[I have $5,]" Ash said taking a five-dollar bill and his PokéDex from his jeans.

"[Me too,]" Misty said.

"[I have ten,]" Joy said.

"[I have thirty,]" Jenny said, "[Plus my badge, keys to my motorcycle, and a gun.]"

"[Would those things come in handy?]" Ash wondered.

"[Probably not,]" Jenny said, "[Assuming Jigglypuff doesn't know how to drive a motorcycle.]"

Jigglypuff shook her head.

"[Here are the Pokéballs,]" Ash said as he handed five Pokéballs to Jigglypuff. Jigglypuff looked at them uneasily.

"[Okay…]" Ash said, "[Put me in.]"

Jigglypuff gulped and tossed one of the Pokéballs, which was now full-size, at Ash's head. When it hit him and opened, he glowed and became nothing more then red light. He was sucked in, and the Pokéball closed.

Everyone was silent for a moment.

"[It sure is creepy watching that happen to someone when you know you're next…]" Misty said.

~~~

After putting everyone in a Pokéball, Jigglypuff put the Pokéballs, the money, and everyone's clothes in Ash's backpack. He went outside and started toward where Jenny had said the bus stop was.

~~~

Not far away, Tracey and all of the Pokémon were totally confused. Venonat couldn't see Ash and Misty, and Marill couldn't hear them. After going back to the little cabin, all they'd found was clothes.

"I just don't get it," Tracey said.

"We heard you the first twenty times you said that," Galacteon snapped.

"Just be thinking about what could have happened," Tracey said, "This is what we know: Ash and Misty are missing. Jessie, James, and Meowth are missing. Plus Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny, and some other kid are also missing. All of those people except Meowth were hit with that machine, and their clothes and belongings are still there.

"Plus neither Marill, Venonat, nor any of the flying Pokémon can find them. Also, the doctors we went to get think we're lunatics. Another thing to note is that no sane person GOES ANYWHERE WITHOUT THEIR CLOTHES!!!"

"Yikes!" Galacteon yelped, startled by Tracey's sudden outburst, "Take it easy! I know they've been gone for nearly two-and-a-half days! But now is not the time to be a cuckoo!"

"Pikachu-chu," Pika agreed. Pikachu sighed and nodded.

Tracey startled to say something else but was interrupted by Marill shouting.

"What is it, Marill?" he asked. Marill had its ear on the ground listening to vibrations.

"Marill!" Marill stood and turned to Venonat, "Marill! Marill-Marill, Marill!"

"Veno-Venonat!" Venonat said. He bounced excitedly and looked toward the cabin, "Venonat!"

"What do you see?" Tracey asked, kneeling by Venonat.

"Veno! Veno-Venonat!" Venonat cried, bouncing.

"You see… a person…" Tracey said, "coming from…the cabin?"

"Venonat!" Venonat nodded.

"Is it Ash or Misty?" Galacteon asked. Venonat shook his head.

"Well, I don't care what you do," Galacteon said, "but _I'm_ gonna check it out! That person could have something to do with this!"

"Hey! Come back!" Tracey called as Galacteon sped off toward the cabin. Pika, Pikachu, and Togechikku jumped on his back. Charizard and Pidgeot took flight.

"[Uh…]" Marill stammered, "[Shouldn't we be following them?]"

Tracey sighed, "Yes…."

~~~

"I really hope I don't forget the way," Jigglypuff muttered. With shocking suddenness, a beam of white light zoomed at her. Her Pokémon reflexes made her jump. The beam hit the ground, and dirt exploded everywhere. Jigglypuff went flying through the air. She landed on the ground against a tree. 

She shook the dizziness away and looked at her attacker. Galacteon growled at her and shot another Moonbeam. Jigglypuff ducked. The portion of the tree that was hit was blown to splinters. Now that part of the tree's trunk was in splinters and scattered everywhere, the rest of it began to tip. Jigglypuff scrambled up and started running in the direction she'd been heading. This distracted Galacteon too long.

"P-p-Pi-KA!" Pika cried. She and Pikachu pushed Togechikku out of the way and jumped aside. 

BOOM!

Galacteon was pinned under the falling tree.

"Ka-Chu?" Pika asked.

"I'm fine but stuck," Galacteon said, "Go catch that girl!"

"Pika!" Pikachu and Pika ran after her.

"Tog-yi..." Togechikku said, "TA-chi-r-r-r-r-r-ii-ii-ii-ii!" He grabbed Pikachu and Pika in each hand and flew after Jigglypuff.

__

Ooh, I never would have had to worry about this if I were a Jigglypuff! Jigglypuff though to herself as she ran, _I was more powerful than all of these guys put together!_

She stopped instantly as a huge icicle drove itself into the ground in front of her. They soon surrounded her. Squirtle laughed. Snorlax was carrying Lapras, who was using Ice Beam. Togechikku stood with them.

Jigglypuff tried to stall. 

"Hey, look at that!" Jigglypuff pointed above and behind Charizard, who was just landing. With Pikachu and Pika watching Jigglypuff, the others turned to look.

"[I don't see anything,]" Lapras said.

"[Me neither,]" said Charizard, who was facing away from Jigglypuff.

"I-it's gone now, but what if it comes back?" Jigglypuff asked.

"[What was it?]" Togechikku asked.

"It… looked like a…" Jigglypuff stammered, "really…big…Gyarados!"

"[Gyarados?]" Charizard wondered, still leaning backward.

"[Team Rocket has a Gyarados!]" Pikachu pointed out.

"[Charizard?]" Snorlax asked, "[You watch for it.]"

"[Okay,]" Charizard said.

"[So tell me,]" Pikachu said to Jigglypuff, "[why do you have my friend's backpack?]"

"Uh…" Jigglypuff gulped, "I wasn't aware it was anybody's backpack. I figured someone threw it out. Why let it go to waste?"

"[What about the other stuff in the cabin?]" Charizard asked, still looking for a Gyarados. 

"There wasn't that much stuff," Jigglypuff said, "and everything except the backpack didn't seem worth picking up."

Pika started, "[But since—]"

"[—Charizard!]" Togechikku shouted.

Before Charizard could react, Jigglypuff slammed through the icicle on which he had been standing. His tail flame had been slowly weakening the ice. Shards of ice scattered everywhere as Jigglypuff bolted through the trees.

"Char!" screeched Charizard as he fell on his back and was squashed by ice.

"Togi!" Togechikku glowed, then shot a Psybeam at Jigglypuff.

Chapter 11

Poké-Power-De-Pumper-Upper

Meanwhile, Ash's Pidgeot with Tracey on his back landed near where Galacteon was pinned.

"I'm fine," Galacteon insisted, "I'm cutting my way out slowly because I don't want to cut myself. The others could use your help though."

Pidgeot and Tracey flew off. After a few minutes, Galacteon had to explain the same thing to Bulbasaur, who was baby-sitting Pika's kids. They left to join the battle.

Galacteon finally freed himself.

"About time," he thought. As he headed after the others, a pink blur appeared in the corner of his eye, then was gone. After a moment, he shrugged and continued on his way.

Thunk!

He'd barely taken two steps before he heard a faint sound from the cabin. He decided to go check it out.

He peered cautiously over the window seal, only to find something long, thin, and pink sticking out from behind the Poké-Power-Pumper-Upper.

"Hey! Stop that!" Galacteon said, assuming it was a Pokémon's tail, "That doesn't belong to you!"

The tail stopped its waving. 

"Mew?" it squeaked. The tiny pink Pokémon peeked over the Pumper-Upper for a moment then went back to what it was doing. It appeared to be prying the metal cover off.

"Don't just ignore me!" Galacteon said, placing his front paw on the window sill.

"Me-ew-ew-ew-ew-ew!" the Pokémon giggled.

"Don't make me come in there…!" Galacteon said, "I'm not kidding!"

The Pokémon giggled again.

"What did you say your name was, you little pink rat?" Galacteon asked.

The Pokémon, which was about the size of Pikachu, stood on top of the Pumper-Upper, waved, and said, "Mew!"

"Well, _Mew_," Galacteon leaped through the window and began circling Mew, "I'm giving you ten seconds to get outta here!"

Mew yawned. It casually picked a screwdriver up off the floor with its long tail and began inspecting it.

Galacteon growled angrily. He shot a Moonbeam at Mew, who dodged. There was a star-shaped hole left in the wall behind it. Mew managed to avoid getting slashed by Galacteon's tail _and_ managed to use its own tail to whack Galacteon in the nose.

Galacteon shook his head, startled. This gave Mew time for a Pound attack. Galacteon shot three Moonbeams. The first two were blocked by Mew's Barrier. But its protective bubble was weakened, and Mew was sent sprawling the third time. It jumped through the window and landed on a large rock.

It had jumped so far and smooth that Galacteon thought that it might have flown to the rock. He looked at it questioningly. 

"Giving up yet?" he asked. Mew shook its head. Galacteon said, "You have a lot of guts for such a little guy. Maybe too much for your own health."

"Mew?" Mew said. It began to glow, then stopped. It stood and stuck its tiny tongue out at Galacteon.

"Grrr! Then come in here and fight!" Galacteon said.

"Mew-Mew!" Mew snapped. It shook its head.

"Little coward!" Galacteon leaped through the window. Mew dodged his Slash. He sprung at Mew, who jumped. Galacteon was now on the other side of it.

Mew giggled again and began to glow. Galacteon was sent reeling into a tree at the force of the Psybeam. Mew repeated its whimsical laugh and jumped to were Galacteon was sprawled out on the leaves. It poked at him and stood proud of his victory.

It flew into the cabin and continued its work on the machine. After prying off the side panel, it rearranged, twisted, moved, and reconnected nearly every tiny part of the Pumper-Upper. 

Mew floated back and looked at what he had done. The screws, wires, microchips, and other things took up a lot less room. He stared at the new arrangement, then concentrated. Both he and the machine glowed.

Poof!

The Pumper-Upper's metal exterior decreased greatly. Mew had used his psychic powers to strip away the excess steel and remold the remaining into a smaller gun. He picked the pistol up in one paw. The three neon-green rings around the tip made it look like some space-age laser weapon.

"Mew-MEW-Mew!" Mew said, proud of himself. He flew out the window with the smaller gun and headed north.

Chapter 12

Petioleon (Pet-_toy_-lee-on)

Jigglypuff cowered before Togechikku's Psybeam. However, the beam didn't hit her. It more so seemed to hit the air in front of her. Though she was confused, Jigglypuff did not wait for an explanation. She jumped up and ran. Pikachu jumped down and used Thunder. Jigglypuff ducked and somehow remained unharmed. 

"How'd she do that?" Tracey wondered.

BONK!

After looking back, Jigglypuff nearly ran into a tree. While about five feet from it, she lurched back without hitting it. Confused, she reached out at the tree with his fingertips. Instead of feeling the bark, she felt something like glass that curved all the way around her and barely in reach of her fingers.

Charizard drenched her in flames. The result was Jigglypuff unharmed. A ring of fire was around her because the mysteriously appearing barrier had not protected some of the leaves from burning. She jumped the flames and made sure to stay far from any trees. Her esoteric shield moved with her.

Lapras's Ice Beam was the first not to involve bright lights. The made a comical-looking patch of ice on the top of the shield, but as it hit, the barrier flickered blue. 

Jigglypuff managed to keep running until she lost them in the tall prairie grass.

"Thank goodness," she whispered, kneeling in the grass. She released her friends.

"PIKA!" Ash was the only one who wasn't calm. He desperately seized the first solid thing he could get his paws on—this happened to be Misty.

"[Hey! Let go!]" Misty said, kicking her curly tail.

After a moment, Ash calmed down and released her.

"What was that all about?" Jigglypuff asked, "We _are_ trying to be quiet here."

"[Sorry,]" Ash said, "[But I hate Pokéballs! No more Pokéballs for me! No way!]"

"Fine, just be quiet," Jigglypuff said.

"[I don't see the problem,]" Misty said, "[I was sleeping.]"

"[Me too,]" Joy said. Ryan and Jenny nodded.

"I think we may have gotten off course," Jigglypuff said.

"[That explains why this place looks like…]" Ash said, "[…the middle of nowhere.]"

"Does anyone want back in?" Jigglypuff held up the Pokéballs.

"[Not me!]" Ash said quickly. The others agreed to reenter the Pokéballs.

"Come on," Jigglypuff picked Ash up and continued walking, "Viridian is this way."

With Ash on her shoulder, Jigglypuff continued for about a half-an-hour. They stopped under a solitary tree.

"[I wonder why we haven't seen any Pokémon out here,]" Ash said, "[Don't a lot of Pokémon live on prairies.]"

"I don't care how many we see," Jigglypuff said, "as long as they don't attack us." She stepped on a vine. There was tangle of two of them around.

SNAP!

Ash tumbled to the ground and fell on his belly. When he regained his senses, he looked up and saw Jigglypuff hanging upside-down from the tree by the vines. Her arms were crossed and she had a fairly unhappy look.

"[What are you doing up there?]" Ash asked.

"Just hanging around," Jigglypuff said sardonically. She sighed and said, "This not my day."

"Pika," Ash thought.

"Petiole!" 

"[What's that?]" Ash asked.

"I didn't say that," Jigglypuff said.

"[Who did?]" 

"Petioleon!" went the same coarse voice, "[I did!]"

Neither Ash nor Jigglypuff could see the Pokémon until it moved. It was a green, two-and-a-half-foot quadruped. It had had a big pink flower atop its head and long grass for a mane and tail. Vines came from beneath its mane, curled up through the tree branches, and wrapped around Jigglypuff's legs.

"A Petioleon?" Jigglypuff wondered.

"[It's not very nice to just tie people up like that!]" Ash snapped.

The Pokémon snorted a bit and said, "[I don't like humans very much.]"

"[That's no excuse!]" Ash said, "[What if someone did that to you because they didn't like your species?]"

"Puff!" Jigglypuff said before the Pokémon could say anything. In her own language she said, "[I understand your dislike for humans, Petioleon, but I'm not human. Some humans made me like this with one of their machines. My friends are helping me find a way to change back to a Jigglypuff. Pikachu here is one of them.]"

"Pika," Ash said, at a loss for anything else to say.

The Pokémon, whose name was Petioleon, seemed to totally dismiss it at first. But then he seemed to think it over. 

After thinking a while, Petioleon said, "[Because of my feelings for humans and my pity for your situation, I shall release you. If there is a way I can help, please tell me.]"

"[Can you help us to Viridian?]" Ash asked as Jigglypuff stood on the ground. The vines disappeared under Petioleon's grassy mane. 

"[Of course,]" Petioleon said, "[Excuse me a moment.]"

While Petioleon climbed the tree, Jigglypuff kneeled by Ash and whispered, "Make sure you let him think you're a Pokémon and always have been."

"Pet-Petiole-Petioleon!" Petioleon called from the treetop. 

"[Okay,]" Ash said, "[Can you tell me anything about Petioleons?]"

"Petioleon! Petioleon!"

"Petioleon is a grass type," Jigglypuff answered, "It's sorta rare because only certain Eevees' DNA will except a Leaf Stone to evolve."

Ash nodded as Petioleon leaped from the tree and landed soundlessly.

"[Follow me,]" Petioleon said.

Ash and Jigglypuff looked at each other uncertainly. Nevertheless, they followed Petioleon through the grass.

Chapter 13

Travel Underground

For some reason, Petioleon seemed extremely cautious. He slid quickly and quietly through the tall grass with Ash and Jigglypuff following clumsily behind. He'd stop every now and then to peek over the top of the grass and twitch his wide ears. Those ears looked so much like leaves from the back that they were comical. 

"[Why are we being so careful?]" Ash asked.

"[There are too many Pokémon trainers out here to not be cautious,] Petioleon said. He froze; his ears were perked.

"What is it?" Jigglypuff asked nervously and kneeled.

"[It is K.C.]" Petioleon said, "[He's a Pokémon trainer. He loves Eevee and its evolved forms. He's always after me.]"

"[But you move so quietly,]" Ash said, "[How will they find you?]"

"[His strongest Flareon has an excellent sense of smell,]" Petioleon said, "[It and his other Pokémon spread out.]"

"[Uh-oh,]" Ash said.

"[I know a way to escape,]" Petioleon said. He pounded on the ground with his front paw as Ash heard K.C.'s Pokémon move loudly through the grass.

"What are you doing?" Jigglypuff asked.

Petioleon continued his pounding wordlessly. Ash was nervous. He saw the Pokémon creeping closer. Finally, the spot Petioleon was pounding on just collapsed, leaving a hole.

"[Come,]" He leaped through the hole. Ash and Jigglypuff followed. They landed on what seemed to be a large pile of dirt. Petioleon slid down the edge easily while Ash and Jigglypuff rolled and tumbled. 

"[Where are we?]" Ash asked. It was completely dark aside from the column of light that came through the hole.

"[We're in a cavern belonging to a… an associate of mine,]" Petioleon said, "[He's Dusteon. Like me, he used to have a trainer, so he's not as neighborly as most wild Pokémon. He probably only lets me use his tunnels for escaping because he doesn't want me to be captured.]"

"[What's so not neighborly about not wanting you to get caught?]" Ash asked.

"[He doesn't want me to be caught because I'll have to listen to K.C.,]" Petioleon said as he began to scratch at the floor of the cavern. "[Since I'm a Grass-type—and one with tons more experience—I could knock out Dusteon in less than three hits unless he ran off. Plus, Dusteon is another Eevee evolution, and is even rarer than me. K.C. would want him too.]"

"[I see,]" Ash said. Petioleon seemed to be satisfied with what he'd scratched up off the floor.

"Flare! Flare! Flare!" barked a Flareon. It stuck its head through the hole and looked around. It growled at Petioleon.

Petioleon grinned and shouted, "[Come and get me you badly-groomed weenie roaster!]"

Flareon snarled and extended its claws toward Petioleon. It didn't come within five feet.

"[What?]" Petioleon said mockingly, "[Are you too inexperienced to use your Fire-type attacks?]"

"Flare!" Flareon used Flame-thrower straight at Petioleon.

Ash and Jigglypuff gasped. It was hard to tell exactly what Petioleon did because of how fast he moved. Though he snatched up the stick he'd previously scratched from the dirt. Then he threw it so half of it hit Flareon's fire and ignite. He pivoted on his front paws to easily dodge the attack as the flaming stick fell to the dirt.

From the center of the flower on Petioleon's head came a huge cloud of gold-colored dust. It hit Flareon in the face. Flareon got a shocked expression and didn't move.

"[Stun Spore,]" Ash realized, "[Flareon's been paralyzed.]"

"Vaporeon!" a Vaporeon appeared above the hole. It sprayed its Water Gun on Flareon, who recovered.

"[Stay out of this, Fishy!]" Petioleon flung his head from side to side. Each time, a leaf shot from the leaf-looking segment of the back of his ear. 

"Vay!" Vaporeon was hit by the leaves and knocked out of view. Petioleon shot blue glitter from his flower. Soon Flareon was snoozing peacefully. 

"[Razor Leaf and Sleep Powder?]" Ash wonder, "[I'm glad Petioleon is on our side.]"

"[Come quickly now,]" Petioleon said. He looked at Jigglypuff and asked, "[since you're less flammable, could you carry the torch?]"

"Sure," Jigglypuff said. She picked up to unlit half of the flaming stick and held it up.

"[Hurry,]" Petioleon urged as he walked into the darkness.

Jigglypuff and Ash followed quickly. Petioleon lead them through all sorts of crazy twists and turns in the tunnels. Ash and Jigglypuff were talking quietly while walking.

"[He said these caves are own by a Pokémon named Dusteon, who is an Eevee evolution,]" Ash said.

Jigglypuff nodded.

"[Let's see…]" He thought, "[Eevee evolves to Flareon with a Fire stone, Vaporeon with a Water stone, and Jolteon with a Thunder Stone. Although the PokéDex says it's impossible, Eevee can _sometimes_ evolve to Petioleon with the Leaf stone and Galacteon with the Moon stone. So how does Eevee evolve into Dusteon?]"

"A different stone?" Jigglypuff suggested.

"[But there aren't any more than those five stones,]" Ash insisted.

Jigglypuff shrugged.

Chapter 14

The Battle

After emerging from the twisting tunnels, Ash, Jigglypuff, and Petioleon climbed into daylight.

"[Ow, my eyes…]" Ash rubbed his eyes and blinked several times.

"[Blow out that torch and keep moving,]" Petioleon continued walking though the grass. Jigglypuff smothered the flame in the dirt and followed him. Ash jumped onto Jigglypuff's shoulder.

"Where are we going now?" Jigglypuff asked.

"[A tree.]"

"[A tree?]" Ash asked.

"[Yes. That tree,]" Petioleon pointed with his paw at a large tree in the distance.

When they reached the tree, Petioleon shouted out as he'd done before. Two Feerows and a Pidgeotto landed in the tree. Petioleon used his claws to climb up the tree. He used his Vine Whip to lift Jigglypuff. Ash climbed up easily, being a forest Pokémon.

"Fear…" muttered one of the Feerows. Petioleon walked across the branch it stood on and whispered something. Then he hopped onto the other Feerow, who was smaller. 

"[Jigglypuff, get onto the other Feerow,]" Petioleon said, "[Pikachu? You get onto the Pidgeotto.]"

"Pikachu…" Ash stepped onto the Pidgeotto as Jigglypuff sat on the larger Feerow.

As the Feerows and the Pidgeotto flew northward, Ash tried not to think about the situation he and his friends were in, but he couldn't help it. He thought, _"[Think of the dreams all of us had… Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny are all right. They can pretend to be strays and go back to their relatives as a nurse and a police canine…_

"[Misty wanted to learn about Water Pokémon. I guess she's learning a lot though. But she doesn't want to spend her whole life eating bugs… Who knows what Ryan's goal in life is. I don't know him enough yet… I want to be a great Pokémon trainer, but Pokémon can't train Pokémon. I hope we can change back. I hope…]"

~~~

It wasn't long before they saw Viridian City on the horizon. At the same time, Ash noticed two people walking in the field bellow.

"They aren't from Team Rocket are they?" Jigglypuff asked.

"[No, they're just kids,]" Ash said.

"That's good," Jigglypuff said.

The Feerows and the Pidgeotto dropped them off on the outskirts of Viridian, then flew away. It began to get dark.

"[Since you appear to be human, why don't you go make sure it's safe?]" Petioleon said, "[Pikachu and I will stay here.]"

"Okay," Jigglypuff said, although there was no reason for it to be unsafe. She headed toward the buildings.

Ash and Petioleon sat there for a moment. They heard a rustling in the nearby tall grass. They were in short grass and downwind. That meant that what ever was in the tall grass could see and possibly smell Ash and Petioleon—and the two of them couldn't.

Ash wasn't sure if Petioleon did, but he could make out human speech being whispered back and forth in the grass.

"What are those things?" voice one whispered.

"One is a Pikachu," voice two responded, "The other one must be some sort of mutation!"

__

Oh, please, Ash thought, _That's definitely jumping to conclusions!_

"Should we try to catch them?" asked voice one.

Petioleon's ears perked, and his mane fluffed out slightly.

"I guess. You send out your Squirtle."

"Right!"

The two people stood. They were young boys—the same that Ash had noticed earlier.

"Pika-chu!" Ash threatened. To Petioleon he said, "[We won't have any problem with a Squirtle!]"

"Go, Squirtle!" the first kid said.

"Squirt, Squirtle, Squirt!" the Squirtle said as it exited its Pokéball.

"Water Gun, Squirtle!" 

"Petiole!" Petioleon used Sand Attack; he used his tail to brush sand into Squirtle's eyes. Squirtle's Water Gun didn't come close to hitting either of them.

"Squirt!" Squirtle cried, alarmed, as Petioleon's Vine Whip zoomed at him. He used Withdraw and was spun around. When he emerged, he was dizzy. Thus, he saw _two_ Pikachus charging at him with flashing cheeks.

Ash zapped the Squirtle with Thundershock.

"Squirt-t-t-t…" Squirtle fell over, out cold.

"[I…know… a Squirtle that's a _lot_ stronger than that!]" Ash said.

"I'll handle them!" the second kid said as the first returned his Squirtle. He threw his Pokéball and yelled, "Go Charmander!"

A sweat drop rolled down Petioleon's head. Grass was very weak against Fire. The Charmander appeared. 

"[Wow,]" Ash commented, "[It looks tough.]"

"[If it knows Flame Thrower, we're done for!]" squealed Petioleon.

"Char-CHAR!" Charmander shot a huge stream of flame from its mouth.

"Pet!" Petioleon yelped and leaped aside. He used Sand-Attack, but Charmander avoided it.

"Pika!" Ash shocked Charmander. Charmander used Ember on Ash and turned to Petioleon.

Petioleon shivered.

"[Petioleon?]" Ash said weakly, "[When Charmander attacks you, use Razor Leaf, but aim it above its head!]"

As Charmander began his Flame Thrower, Petioleon did what Ash said. The leaves flying toward him at an angle distracted Charmander, who looked up at them. Because he turned his head up while still spitting flame, Petioleon was unharmed and the leaves ignited. They fell onto Charmander.

"[Now is your chance to attack!]" Ash yelled to Petioleon. 

"Fire Spin, Charmander!" Charmander's trainer ordered as Petioleon jumped up.

"Petioleon!" Petioleon's flower glowed. As Charmander's Fire Spin shot toward him, he released a huge beam that whirred toward Charmander.

"[That's a Solar Beam!]" Ash said, marveled.

The Solar Beam was made of light, and the Fire Spin was made and extremely hot air. Thus, both attacks went straight through one another and hit their target.

"Petiole!" Petioleon howled in pain from the swirling fire around him.

"Char!" cried Charmander as the beam exploded.

"[Petioleon!]" Ash cried. Petioleon was sprawled on the ground with all sorts of scrapes and bruises.

"Charmander!" cried Charmander's trainer; "You did a good job…"

"Pika-chu?" Ash winced, seeing that Petioleon was only barely twitching.

"Pokéball go!" 

Ash gasped.

Chapter 15

Solution by Evolution 

Ash rushed toward Petioleon, hoping to fight off the Pokéball. He skidded in its path and smacked it away with his tail. Meanwhile, Charmander was getting up.

"That little rat!" the first kid said.

"It's a mouse," said the second, "Get 'em Charmander!"

"Char-Char-man!" Charmander, though weakened, lunged at Ash. 

"[I wish I knew Thunderbolt…]" Ash murmured. To his surprise, something blue landed in his arms. 

SPLASH!

Water poured onto Charmander. The next thing anyone knew was that Charmander was out cold.

Ash tried to look at what he had caught, but it was glowing. It got a little bigger. When it stopped glowing, it said, "Seadra!"

"[Seadra?]" Ash wondered, looking at the Dragon Pokémon.

"[Yikes! I evolved!]" cried the Seadra.

"[Misty?!]" Ash demanded. 

"[Who were you expecting? Tracey?]" Misty demanded.

"Let out your Oddish!" Charmander's trainer said to his friend as he released a Bellsprout.

"Bellsprout!"

"Oddish!"

"[Are the others with you?]" Ash asked.

"[Of course. I can't walk you know,]" Misty said as Jenny, Joy, and Ryan leaped over their heads.

"Bellsprout and Oddish can't beat that Growlithe!" the first kid said, "We have to help them!"

"Right…uh…" the second kid stuttered, "Throw rocks!"

"Grrr!" moaned Jenny as the rocks hit her.

"There are no more rocks!" the second kid cried after ten or so rocks had been thrown.

"We can throw this weird rock," the first kid picked a backpack up from the grass and got something out of it.

"No! Don't throw that!" 

Too late. The first kid threw a shiny red rock at Jenny.

"[Well, he mustn't know a thing about Pokémon!]" Ash exclaimed.

"[What is that thing?]" Misty asked.

"[Its a Fire Stone,]" Ash answered.

"Growl?" Jenny questioned. After being hit in the head with the Fire Stone, she started glowing. 

"[She's gonna be an Arcanine!]" Joy exclaimed. Just to help out, she used Double Slap attack on Oddish. Ryan Scratched the Bellsprout.

"Ar-Kay!" Jenny howled.

"[Jenny! You and Misty try to do a Dragon Rage!]" Ash said.

"Ar-Kay-NINE!"

"Seadra!" 

Because they'd just evolved, they weren't very strong yet. They managed a Dragon Rage, but it was pretty small. However, when both Dragon Rages merged, it was big enough to send Oddish, Bellsprout, and their trainers running for their lives.

"Alright! You guys did it!" said Jigglypuff, finally emerging from behind a tree.

"[Hey, Petioleon got hurt really bad,]" Ash said.

"[Poor thing,]" Misty said, "[Jigglypuff told us about him.]"

Jigglypuff said, "We can take him to the Viridian Pokémon Center, and—"

"[No!]" Petioleon moaned unexpectedly.

Everyone was surprised.

"[No humans…]"

"[Petioleon, I know you dislike humans, but why?]" Ash asked.

"[Humans do not respect Pokémon,]" Petioleon said weakly, "[We… are only property… to them.]

Ash was silent, considering how to respond. Misty started to speak, but hesitated.

"[I had a trainer once… same one as Dusteon…]" Petioleon said, "[Too stupid to recognize our types… or age… or how strong we could have… been with enough care… He didn't think we were good enough… We were only… puppies then. He wouldn't… teach us attacks… and abandoned us…]"

"[That's awful!]" Misty said, "[You're a great Pokémon!]"

"[Awful…]" Petioleon agreed, "[We were too young to know how to survive…but some wild Pokémon found us… Vaporeon, Gloom, and Sandslash were three of them… taught me to find food and fight… Dusteon learned Ground-type stuff like digging…] 

"[But Gloom and Sandslash were caught… A trainer used Vaporeon as a source of experience for her Venusaur… Injured so bad…he died a while later…couldn't help…]"

"[I made it my duty…]" Petioleon continued, sounding weaker still, "[to teach and protect… the other Pokémon in the field… that I live in… A lot are abandoned… then become extremely powerful…]"

"[He's talking an awful lot for some reason,]" Ryan whispered.

Petioleon didn't seem to notice, "[Some poor Oddish… Was way tough… She evolved to Gloom after a while… then she evolved again… Oh… she's Bellossom…]"

"Don't even…." Jigglypuff said, looking both sad and angry. Everyone else was confused. 

"[I suppose it hasn't… been that bad. Had meaning.]"

"No…" Jigglypuff insisted.

Ash suddenly understood: Petioleon was talking about his life because he thought he was going to die.

"[And it'll keep having meaning!]" Ash cried, "[Just trust one human long enough for her to save you! The nurse in the Pokémon Center will help you and let you go. Think of all the Pokémon you helped. You can help more if you live. If you aren't there to help them, who will be? You can't let your dislike for humans mess up the lives of all those little Pokémon that are counting on you!]"

Petioleon had been staring into space, but then he looked Ash in the eyes. He didn't object when Jigglypuff lifted him onto Jenny's back.

They went quickly to the Pokémon Center.

"Nurse Joy?" Jigglypuff demanded of the nurse at the counter, "We found this Pokémon in the fields. It's hurt really bad!"

"Oh, poor thing," Nurse Joy said, "Uh… what is it?"

"Um…" Jigglypuff stuttered, "It's a Grass type."

"Chansey?" Joy asked, "Please take this Pokémon into the ER." 

"Chan-see!" a pair of Chanseys lifted Petioleon off Jenny and onto a stretcher. They pushed the stretcher into the emergency room.

"Since it's a wild Pokémon," Jigglypuff said to the nurse, "can you release it outside when it's healed."

"Sure," Joy said, "You did the right thing by bringing it here."

"We're kind of in a hurry and need to go," Jigglypuff said, "Thank you. Bye."

He and the others were out of the door before the nurse could respond.

"Where would that meeting be?" Jigglypuff asked Ryan.

"[Uh…]"

"[Great… He doesn't know,]" Misty muttered.

Chapter 16

Party Puzzle 

"[Hey, that's my cousin!]" Jenny said. They all followed her gaze to a woman who was standing near a blue convertible. Her hair was long and bluish-green. She had a red dress and a purple purse.

"[Are you sure?]" Ash asked, "[She doesn't look much like cop.]"

"[I know my relatives!]" Jenny snapped, "[She's either undercover or off-duty.]"

"Should we ask her for directions?" Jigglypuff asked.

"[Sure.]"

They walked up to her and Jigglypuff said, "Excuse me, ma'am. Could you give me directions to the Pokémon Researchers' meeting?"

She looked at Jigglypuff suspiciously, "Why?"

"[Say you were supposed to meet Prof. Jones there,]" Ryan advised.

"I was supposed to meet Prof. Jones there," Jigglypuff said.

After a moment, Jenny said, "I'm on my way there too. I could give you a ride if you put some of your Pokémon in their Pokéballs."

"Oh, thank you," Jigglypuff said. He started putting everyone but Ash into a Pokéball.

"What's your name?" Jenny asked Jigglypuff.

"My name?" Jigglypuff questioned, "Uh… Jane!"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Teresa," she said.

"[Definitely undercover,]" the Jenny who was an Arcanine said as she was drawn into her Pokéball.

"Hop in," 'Teresa' said.

Jigglypuff sat in the passenger seat of the blue convertible with Ash on her lap. Jenny, a.k.a. Teresa, started her car and drove onto the street.

"[She _does_ look a lot like Officer Jenny,]" Ash said, "[But she's such a careful driver…]"

"Growlithe?"

"PIKA!" Ash cried, alarmed, as a head of a Growlithe appeared over Jigglypuff's shoulder.

"That's just my pet Growlithe," Jenny said, "Don't worry about him."

Growlithe was in the back seat with his front paws against the back of the front seat. He laid back down on the back seat.

"Chu…" Ash muttered uneasily.

They soon arrived at a large building. Jenny pulled the car into the parking lot.

"This is it," she said, "You can get a ride home with Prof. Jones, right?"

"Um, yeah," Jigglypuff said. Ash hopped behind her as she exited the car. The three of them and Growlithe went into the building. 

"Pi-chu!" Ash said. The room inside was like a big party. There was a buffet table to the right with three ice sculptures: Vileplume, Persian, and Charizard.

Though it was a party, everyone looked sad and serious. Ryan was taken out of his Pokéball to help find his father. They wandered rather aimlessly through the crowd trying not to seem suspicious.

Ash recognized several people. There was Bill from the lighthouse, Westwood V from Seafoam Island, Prof. Ivy from Valencia Island, and Prof. Oak.

"[Prof. Ivy?]" Ash said to himself, "[I wonder if Brock's here…]"

"Don't you remember what those scientists looked like?" Jigglypuff whispered to Ash.

"[I think so,]" Ash said.

"Then look by yourself for a while," Jigglypuff sat Ash on the edge of the buffet table as they passed it.

"I figured the police could've done something about it," Ash heard someone say. He turned around and saw Gary and an older girl standing nearby.

"Police aren't perfect," the girl said, "and Team Rocket is supposed to be pretty tough. It wasn't much of a surprise that they got away with that thing."

"I guess," Gary said, "but they wouldn't have gotten away if I'd been there."

"Maybe," the girl said, "but don't over-estimate yourself, little cuz."

"[Cuz?]" Ash wondered, "[Is she Gary's cousin?]"

"I'm a better trainer than you think, Maria," Gary said.

"Hey, is this your Pikachu?" someone asked. Ash turned around.

"Pika!" he smiled, seeing Brock. Gary looked at Ash.

"No," he said, "It was there when we got here."

Brock picked Ash up, "I'll go see if I can find its trainer. It doesn't look too healthy." 

"Pi?" Ash wondered as Brock carried him through the crowd. Ash saw one of the scientists he'd seen before. "Pika!" he stuck his arm out toward him.

"Is that your trainer?" Brock asked, walking toward the scientist. Ash saw Jigglypuff and Ryan weaving through the people in the crowd to get to him.

Boom!

Something exploded from across the big room. White smoke filled the area.

Chapter 17

Party Panic

"What the…?" Brock wondered. From behind, Ash saw an Arbok. It was ignoring them and watching the smoke.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"Make it double!"

"[Team Rocket?!]" Ash demanded.

"To plague the world with devastation!"

"To blight all people in every nation!"

"To denounce the goodness of truth and love."

"To extend our wrath to the stars above!"

"[Uh-oh…]" Ash muttered. The smoke cleared.

"Cassidie!"

"Butch."

"Team Rocket circles the world all day and night!"

"Surrender now, for you will surly lose the fight!"

"Raticate!" Raticate said, popping up from nowhere.

"Drowzee!" Drowzee said at the same time as Raticate. 

"This doesn't look like a good thing…" Jigglypuff muttered.

"Don't bother asking, we'll come out and tell you what we want!" Cassidie said to the awestruck crowd.

"We want every Pokémon and power-up you have in this dump!" Butch said.

"Hold it!" 'Teresa' jumped onto a table. She held out a badge and a gun, "I'm a police officer! Don't move; you're under arrest!"

Growlithe barked.

"Hah!" Cassidie mocked, "Drowzee! Psywave!"

"Ahh!" the officer cried. She and Growlithe were thrown to the wall. They were out cold.

"[Get them!]"

After a moment, Ash realized that the Arbok had said that. A nearby Koffing evolved into Weezing. The duo attacked Team Rocket. They headed for Drowzee, since it was strongest.

"Ash! What do we do?!" Jigglypuff demanded.

"Ash?" Brock wondered.

"[We'll sit around and twiddle our thumbs,]" Ash said sarcastically, "[What do you think we'll do? You have the others! Let them out!]"

"Right!" Jigglypuff threw the Pokéballs with Misty, Jenny, and Joy. Ash and Ryan leaped into battle with them.

"Seadra!" Misty moaned. She flopped vainly. Before the others could attack, Cassidie and Butch found themselves surrounded.

The Arbok and Weezing were in the front. Tracey, his Pokémon, and Ash and Misty's Pokémon were to their right. Meowth and Jessie and James's Pokémon were to their left.

Cassidie sighed, "Drowzee? Hypnosis!"

The unfamiliar Arbok said, "[James! Smoke Screen!]"

The hypnosis waves from Drowzee's attack were blocked by the smoke before they reached anyone. 

"[Jessie and James must have evolved!]" Ash said.

Cassidie and Butch began to look nervous. They were immediately attacked from all sides. The end result was the two of them and their Pokémon tied, gagged, and unconscious in the back of Teresa/Jenny's car.

Chapter 18

Pokémon War

Back inside, the oblivious humans were happy; they thought the trouble was over. Ash and Jigglypuff knew better. While Joy made sure to watch James, Jenny, Ash, and Jigglypuff searched for Jessie.

"Seadra!" 

Jessie was circling Misty and continually using Glare.

"[Who needs a crummy Horsea?]" Jessie asked, "[A nice rare Seadra alone would make the boss happy.]"

"[Keep away from her!]" Ash ran up and bit Jessie's middle section.

"Char!" Jessie screeched. The people in the room fled toward the walls of the room. This left Ash, Jessie, Misty, and the others unhindered in the center of the room where everyone could see them.

"Are these your Pokémon?!" Prof. Oak demanded of Jigglypuff, who was struggling to pry open Jessie's jaws to free Ash's tail.

"What do you think?!" Jigglypuff demanded, then, "I'm a singer, not a trainer!"

After involuntarily releasing Ash, Jessie tried to shoot Jigglypuff with a Poison Sting. The shot went wide and shattered the Persian ice sculpture. Behind where it had been floated Mew.

"The pink rat!" exclaimed Galacteon as the crowd gasped, "and the kid at the cabin! That proves it! They're in cahoots!"

"[You think we decided to come alone?]" James asked, "[After seeing the bugs' display in the forest, we decided on bringing some help!]"

"[Best of all,]" Jessie said as she sent Joy flying. She lowered her voice, "[they think you're the bad guys, and you can't convince them any differently!]" 

"[Help!]" James said.

Suddenly, a bunch of Ekans tore through a window. Pidgeys and Spearow crashed through another.

"[Uh-oh,]" Ash thought.

"[Guess what else we worked up?]" Jessie mocked. The fishing net they'd had earlier mysteriously appeared beneath Ash and Misty's friends. They were pulled to the ceiling, trapped, and laughed at by several Ekans.

"Hey! What gives?!" Tracey demanded.

"[They won't be helping you…]" James looked at the Pokémon that were helping them, "[you…big meanies!]"

"[This doesn't look too winnable….]" Ryan said, half-conscious.

"[No kidding…]" Ash said, "[Anyone who can still fight, try your best!]"

"Psy…" Ryan tensed. He glowed and grew. His next words were, "Gol-duck!"

"Yay!" Jigglypuff said with real, but fake-sounding, enthusiasm.

As Ryan poised for an attack, Jessie said, "[Not so fast, Ducky.]" She lifted Misty in her jaws. 

"Sea…" Misty, though weak, squirmed violently. Ryan hesitated. 

"Pika!"

Ash unexpectedly swatted Jessie in the back of the head, seized Misty, and ran for it. He was Pecked in the stomach by a Spearow. Misty slipped from his paws. James used his teeth to catch her by her tail. Ryan Scratched James and ran with Misty.

"[I really wish I could walk by myself…]" Misty murmured.

She was snatched from Ryan by one of the Pidgeys. The Pidgey accidentally dropped her. Pikachu, who was still in the net with Tracey and the others, caught her. Surprised, Pikachu accidentally tossed her to Tracey. Joy jumped up and grabbed her.

"[Now I know what a football feels like!]" moaned Misty. 

An Ekans stole her from the startled Joy.

"[I could use some water here!]" demanded Misty.

Jenny stepped on the tail of the quickly slithering Ekans. It was trapped beneath her massive paw. The momentum of the Ekans sent Misty hurtling through the air. She landed in a bowl of red liquid that was sitting on the buffet table.

"[I said water not fruit punch!]" protested Misty. The others continued battling. Ryan attempted a Water Gun at some of the birds. However, he missed and hit Misty. Misty muttered a sarcastic, "[Thank you…]"

Mew, who hadn't really seemed to be doing anything, flew up near Misty.

"[Oh, aren't you a cutie?]" Misty said to him.

"Mew…" Mew blushed.

"[Can you give us some help with this battle?]" Misty asked.

"Mew!" Mew held up his little gun he'd made from the Poké-Power-Pumper-Upper. Misty looked surprised and a little scared.

Chapter 19

Reinforcements

"What was that?" Galacteon asked, looking down from the net to the broken window.

"What? I don't see anything," Tracey said.

"Pika-pika," Pikachu agreed.

"I saw something outside," Galacteon said, "but when I looked at it, it was gone."

"[What did it look like?]" Pika asked.

"It was green and pink," Galacteon said, "That's all I saw of it."

"PIKA!" Ash fried all of the remaining birds with a Thunderbolt.

"Seadra!" Misty sprayed an Ekans with Water Gun before it used Bite on Ash from behind. Ash jumped onto the table by Misty.

"[What's the strongest Water-type attack you know?]" he asked Misty.

"[Umm… Bubble Beam,]" Misty answered.

"[Use your Bubble Beam on that swarm of Ekans that's chasing Joy,]" Ash said.

"Sea!" Misty used Bubble Beam. Joy didn't get hit. While Misty was attacking, Ash used Thunder. The liquid from Misty's attack carried the electricity. That left ten fried snakes laying blackened in the middle of the room.

"[I think I'm out of electricity,]" Ash said.

"[Maybe we can still win this fight,]" Misty said, "[There are only ten or so Ekans, plus Jessie and James. Well, some of the Spearow seem to be waking up.]" 

"[We have to try, but it doesn't look good,]" Ash said. He ran and tried Double Edge on James. He collided with James, who was using Tackle. They were both knocked back. James hit Jenny in the head. Ash flew back and landed in the punch bowl with Misty.

"[Ash?!]" Misty cried, "[Are you okay?]"

"Cha!" Ash said weakly.

While Jigglypuff was trying to keep Jessie from clamping down on her head, Mew went up and unzipped Ash's backpack.

"[Come on, wake up, Ash!]" Misty said, using Water Gun on Ash's face. She looked around. Jenny was coughing. She seemed to be running out of fire. Ryan and Joy were out cold. Jessie and James seemed perfectly healthy. The six conscious Ekans looked banged up, yet battle ready. Jigglypuff was holding Jessie's jaws to prevent her from biting her.

"Mew-mew!"

"Sea?" Misty looked up and saw Mew. 

Gary was nearby, trying to get a good look at Mew. Mew threw some pieces of cloth at Misty and Ash. 

"[Hey!]" Misty said, trying to squirm free of the cloth.

"Mew!" Mew leveled his pistol and shot them, cloth and all. Jigglypuff broke free of Jessie to run over and see what was happening. Ash and Misty were glowing. Mew shot Jigglypuff, who also started glowing.

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu exclaimed.

"Tog-yi!" Togechikku called.

"Ash?!" Galacteon said, "Misty?!"

Ash and Misty were growing; Jigglypuff was shrinking. After a few seconds Ash and Misty, as punch-soaked humans, stood on the table. They were fully dressed, save the shoes. Jigglypuff, as a Jigglypuff, jumped around happily. She sang the first line off her song, stopped, and continued to jump around happily.

"I always knew you guys were weird, but…" Gary stammered.

Before Ash could respond, James knocked Jenny out with Tackle. With the others out cold, Jessie, James, and the Ekans surrounded Ash, Misty, and Jigglypuff.

"[Not that you could have won before,]" Jessie said, "[But you don't have a chance now. Your Pokémon are all in a net!]"

Ash looked nervously at his Pokémon.

"Pika-pi…" Pikachu said sadly.

"[You don't have any Pokémon,]" James said.

"[Give it up,]" Jessie mocked, "[We're taking your three friends plus that whole net full over there! And you can't stop us, because you don't have any Pokémon!]"

"Petioleon!"

"Huh?" Ash wondered.

Petioleon jumped through the closest broken window. He jumped over the remnants of a chocolate cake and landed between the buffet table and Team Rocket.

"It's Petioleon," Misty said.

"Petioleon?" Ash asked, "I thought you didn't like humans."

"[You taught me better…]" Petioleon said.

"Will you listen to me?" Ash asked. Petioleon nodded.

"Fantastic!" Misty said.

"But one weakened Grass-type versus eight Poison Pokémon?" Ash said.

"Jigglypuff!" Jigglypuff jumped over and stood by Petioleon.

"[Have some of those humans open the door,]" Petioleon said to Ash.

Though confused, Ash said, "Someone open the door," to the people that were crowded near the door. They did.

Ten Pokémon came running through the open door and knocking a few people over in the process. There were two Fearows, a Pidgeotto, two Sandshrews, two Oddish, a Gloom, and two other Pokémon.

"What are those Pokémon?" Tracey wondered. He started sketching them. One was light blue with feathers and wings. The other was brown and fluffy; it looked dirty.

"That one is Galeon," Galacteon said, "it's a Flying-type. The other one is Dusteon, a Ground-type. They're both Eevee evolutions, but I'm not sure how they evolve."

"[We'll all listen to you,]" Petioleon said to Ash.

"Great!" Ash exclaimed, "Use your Razor Leaf! Jigglypuff, use your Double Slap! Sandshrews and Dusteon, Dig! Pidgeotto and Galeon, use Wing Attack! Oddish and Gloom use Absorb! Fearows, Drill Peck!"

The Oddish and Gloom absorbed the energy of some of the Ekans. Pidgeotto and Galeon swooped down and hit them with their wings. Petioleon's sharp leaves cut into James. Jigglypuff slapped Jessie ten times. The Fearows swooped down and stabbed them with their beaks and accidentally ripped up some of the glossy blue tile.

All of the good guys cleared out of the way. Jessie started to order an attack. She was interrupted by the Sandshrews and Dusteon bursting through the floor with their Dig attack. Snakes and pieces of tile flew everywhere.

"Galeon, Sky Attack!" Ash ordered, "Dusteon! Fissure strike!"

"Gale!" Galeon glowed brightly.

A sweat drop rolled down the side of its head, but Dusteon jumped high in the air anyway. It slammed its front paws onto the floor. A big crack opened in the ground and moved toward Team Rocket and the Ekans—however, this crack wasn't half as large as it had to be to be called a successful Fissure attack. No damage was done to the enemies. They laughed. Dusteon looked sad.

"It's okay, Dusteon," Ash said, "You gave it your best shot."

Galeon, still glowing, swooped down and injured Jessie, James, and the Ekans greatly.

"Jigglypuff! Sing!" Ash said.

"¯ Jiggly-puff, Jig-uh-lee-puff. Jigglypuff, Jiggly…¯ "

While no one was looking, Mew and Petioleon crept out the window to avoid the song.

Chapter 20

All's Well

Mew and Petioleon came back in when Jigglypuff was done singing. She was now using all of her markers to doodle on everyone's face. When she got to Ash, Petioleon stopped her.

"[I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't do that to him,]" Petioleon said, "[What he's taught me today has probably effected the rest of my life.]"

"[Fine,]" Jigglypuff said, "[if he's that important to you, I won't scribble on his face. But you can't keep me away from Dusteon now.]"

"[Oh, go have a field day,]" Petioleon said, "[Tell Ash I said thanks.]"

"Puff," Jigglypuff waved goodbye as Petioleon left, then scribbled on Ash's arm. She walked over to Mew, who was helping himself to leftover cake.

"Mew," Mew said. Its voice was muffled by the mouthful of cake.

"[Thanks for help,]" Jigglypuff said.

Mew smiled.

"[When Ash's buddies were attacking me in the forest,]" Jigglypuff said, "[did that mysterious barrier come from you?]"

Mew nodded.

"[Thanks,] Jigglypuff repeated, "[I hear it takes a lot of talent to project a Barrier attack around something other than yourself.]"

Mew blushed.

"[You know what I learn throughout this experience?]" Jigglypuff said.

"Mew?" Mew asked.

"[Ash and Misty are very close friends, Ash is smarter than he looks, and…]" Jigglypuff said, "how to talk human!"

"Mew!" Mew said.

"Since I'm a Lunar-type Pokémon," Jigglypuff continued, "I was able to learn the Thunder Bolt attack by watching Ash. I figure I'll go catch myself a Doduo or something to help me lug around my markers. Ash won't mind if I barrow a Pokéball."

"Mew," Mew nodded.

"I gotta go," Jigglypuff concluded, "Thanks, again. Nice chatting with you. Bye… I feel sorry for the owner of this building…"

Jigglypuff left. Mew looked around and saw why Jigglypuff felt sorry for the building's owner—the place was a mess! The windows were shattered. The walls and ceiling were scratched up. The tile, floor boards, cement foundation of the building, and the dirt beneath all that had been ripped apart and randomly mixed up.

It was not a very elegant sight.

Mew threw their clothes on them and changed Jenny, Joy, and Ryan back to humans. He floated up and concentrated on the messy room. He used his psychic powers to fix everything but the windows—those would need to be replaced. 

He had another bite of cake and flew through the shattered window.

~~~

Later when Ash woke up, he was startled to find most of the room repaired. As everyone else woke up and started rubbing the ink off their face, he noticed his arm. It had writing instead of aimless scribbles.

"'Petioleon says thanks, because you taught him that not all humans are evil," Ash read aloud, "He wanted me to not display my beautiful artwork on your face, so you'll have to wait till next time. See ya!' Signed JP. 'PS: Please refer to your left palm.'"

He looked at his left hand. Jigglypuff had drawn a picture of herself with an angry expression and his tongue sticking out.

"I guess she's still mad I fell asleep," Ash said.

"It's weird how we can still understand Pokémon language," Misty said, scrubbing the ink off her face.

"Yeah," Ash said; he turned and saw Brock waking up, "Hey, Brock!"

"Hi, Ash," Brock said, "You're getting kinda weird, but Jigglypuff hasn't changed a bit."

After being released from the net, Pikachu, Pika, and Galacteon were muttering amongst each other. After what seemed to be a small argument, Pikachu walked over to Prof. Oak. The expression on his face made him look like he was about to make a prank call.

"Pika?" he said to Prof. Oak.

"What's that?" Prof. Oak asked.

"Pika-pika-chu pika-ka-pika?" Pikachu tapped his wrist.

Prof. Oak looked at his watch, "Um, Eleven."

"Pika," Pikachu said quietly and waddled back to Pika and Galacteon. The two of them snickered.

Misty looked like she was about to explode. She burst out laughing, and everyone looked at her like she was an idiot.

Ash was a little calmer. He said, "Really, that's it?"

Prof. Oak nodded. 

"I figured it was at least twelve," Ash said. He laughed quietly. Misty was laughing so hard that she was crying.

"That was funny, so funny," Galacteon said quietly to Pikachu, "Can you say it again? Exact words?"

Pikachu sighed and tapped his wrist like he was asking what time it was. He said, "[How many times was your grandson dropped on his head as an infant?]"

Galacteon cracked up. 


End file.
